IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Qatar will introduce a combined Qatar Identification Card (QID) and Health Card for all in the country by April, according to Dr Foziyah Abdullah, e-health Director, Supreme Council of Health (SCH). She was speaking at the 70th Conference of GCC Health Ministers Council, which concludes here today.

The electronic link between the General Authority of Customs (GAC) and all the related ministries, organisations and entities is expected to be completed in July with the launch of its final stage with Milaha Maritime & Logistics, it was announced yesterday.

“The e-link will offer great benefits by easing the customs procedures,” Abdelhadi Hassan al-Sahli, director of the marine customs at GAC, explained in an interview released to the media.

The Ministry of Municipality is implementing a number of projects and initiatives focusing on optimizing quality of life, prosperity, urban modernization, service excellence, and digital transformation in line with its strategy for 2024-30.

The newly launched smart cities solutions project of the Ministry of Municipality is one of them. The first phase of the smart cities solutions project includes the implementation of a smart waste management system, a vehicle management and task distribution system, and a central operations command platform.

Dr. Hessa Al Jaber is the first-ever Minister of Information and Communications Technology in Qatar following the formation of the nation’s new Cabinet by H.H. the Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in 2013.

She is the third Qatari woman to assume a ministerial position in the state. In 2013, Dr. Al Jaber was listed among the 500 most powerful Arabs in the world by Arabian Business magazine, then ranked 20th on the 2013 Arabian Business’ list of 100 most powerful Arab women.

“E-health will be a strategic alignment tool for the forthcoming Social Health Insurance Scheme which will enable a successful interface of the scheme with the rest of the health care sector,” Husein Reka, Manager, Health Financing and Insurance Department at the SCH, said during a round table conference recently.

To ensure the NHS 2011-2016 goal of achieving an integrated system of healthcare, there should be effective use of information, communication and process improvement.

However, the document notes that there has been limited co-ordination between key stakeholders regarding e-health implementation, which could result in a situation where different healthcare information technology systems are implemented in Qatar and lead to healthcare data inter-operability issues.

A screen in the machine will display guidelines for consumers, understandably in English and Arabic, to make them aware of their rights. The machine might also display warnings, a list of banned items and possibly price lists of some items of daily use.

The e-service was launched on the sidelines of the Qitcom 2011 Conference & Exhibition and attended by Nationality and Travel Documents (NTD) director Colonel Abdullah Saad al-Buainayn, Information Systems Department (ISD) assistant director Colonel Abdul Rahman al-Maliki and Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) assistant secretary general Hassan al-Sayed.

Colonel al-Buainayn said that through this service, nationals can apply for travel permits, inquire about existing travel permit and cancel permits for themselves or their families.

With an eye to create work environs Ashghal is implementing several electronic programmes and applications.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has started using an electronic system for managing the meetings of the tenders and auctions committees.

The advanced system is used for preparing meeting agendas and signing the tenders committees’ meeting minutes electronically instead of preparing them manually. This is expected to save time and effort, in addition to enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and ease of follow-up and archiving processes for the agendas of the meetings.

“To make it easy for exit permit applicants, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has activated issuance of exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors in all services centres spread across the country,” a spokesman said.

Apart from the Passports and Airport Security Department, services centres in Al-Khor, Mesaiemeer, Al-Shahaniya, HMC, Q-Post, Industrial Area, Al-Shamal, Al-Wakrah, Souq Waqif, Umm Salal, Al-Dhayin and Dukhan will issue exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors, said the director of Unified Services Centre (USD) Colonel Abdullah Ali Al-Sulaiti.

The General Authority of Customs announced the launch of its new website, as part of its efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its electronic services and bring it closer to the public. The site includes the establishment of three main portals, which are business, individuals, travelers, and clearance companies, with the aim of ensuring easy access to the information and procedures required for each category in addition to developing the search engine to include all the contents of the site as well as listing all customs and legal procedures, legislations and customs tariffs, and the services of the commission (services provided to the public, statistics, electronic purchases, employee self-services) and others.

While highlighting the digital transformation of governance in the country, the Qatar Government Contact Centre (QGCC) of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) said it has completed close to 4mn calls during the second quarter of 2021. MoTC tweeted that the number of calls during this period stood at 3,811,645 through the hotline 109.

In April 1,293,926 calls were made while May and June recorded 1,222,250 and 1,295,469 calls respectively.

Qatar has witnessed 54mn completed transactions per year through 1,079 online services and 22 transactions per individual per year through 581 mobile services, a top official of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday.

The number of digital services in Qatar was 1,660 as on March 2017, which comprised 1,079 online and 581 mobile services, Hassan Jassim al-Sayed, assistant undersecretary (Government Programme and Information Technology) at MoTC told Qatar Digital Government (QDG) Forum.

“The procedures are in the final stage and the system will be implemented soon,” MoI’s Information Systems Department assistant director Colonel Abdul Rahman al-Maliki said.

Gulf Times had reported yesterday that MoI issued a total of 47,542 the new type of normal ID cards and 1,000 smart cards with electronic chip until May 17 this year.

Huawei and United Development Company (UDC) signed an agreement to deploy Huawei smart campus system at another UDC development, Gewan Island. The agreement builds on a partnership UDC signed last year with Huawei to enhance The Pearl Island’s Smart City features. The deal would see Huawei design and integrate innovative solutions at the iconic development, including Wi-Fi networks, an intelligent command and control centre, and an advanced data centre facility.

The agreement was signed at Milipol Qatar 2022, the international homeland security and civil defence event from May 24 to 26 in Doha, where Huawei participated as the diamond sponsor. At its booth, Huawei showcased its leading cybersecurity and Smart City technologies, including a Smart City IOC (Intelligent operation centre), a centralised platform that offers a visualized panorama of the city, provides city running status, insights into city risks, and makes comprehensive decisions based on data and information. Visitors also experienced Huawei’s full-stack smart education solution, including intelligent connectivity as a foundation, a safe campus, a hybrid learning smart classroom, and data governance scenarios as online education accelerates post-COVID.

Hassan Al-Sayed, Assistant Secretary General of ictQATAR said, "The rise in the rankings demonstrates Qatar's prioritization of making our government more responsive and transparent for those its serves through an integrated e-Government strategy. We are delighted with the progress we are making, but we are just at the beginning. We intend to further our progress and work towards making Qatar's e-government a world leader in accessibility and user friendliness."

Qatar e-Government Portal Hukoomi was ranked first in web accessibility for Assistive Technology Center (Mada) in April, out of 124 entities. The portal currently includes more than 1400 services, with more than 650 online services that can be completed online.

Tareq Al Emadi, Qatar e-Government Portal Hukoomi Department Manager, said: “We would like to thank Mada on the great, fruitful cooperation between us, and we are looking forward to the continuation of joint efforts, for the purpose of empowering persons with disabilities and enabling them to easily access the digital content.”

The new services which include customs clearance, online recruitment services and even those who want to process personal documents will be another added convenient feature for an increasing number of people now using the portal.

“[The] delegation of Qatar internet domains to ictQATAR brings us one step closer to being able to offer our domains in Arabic language, and is the first step in implementing the recently issued e-transactions law,” said Hessa Al Jaber, ictQATAR’s secretary-general.

HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti has inaugurated an information and communication technology (ICT) unit at a Doha Metro compound where Qatar Rail labourers live, marking the completion of the first 100 ICT facilities as planned for Phase 2 of the ministry’s Better Connections Programme.

Inaugurating the 100th ICT facility takes the number of worker beneficiaries beyond 50,000 who are now able to perceive, use and benefit from information and communication technology where they live, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has said in a press statement.

Having access to ICT tools, the labourers learn how to stay connected with their friends and families, in addition to learning new digital skills.